The Crusader – Epic Symphony feat. The Skaldic Bard

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Music by Farya Faraji, featuring the Latin rendition of the Palastinälied by @SkaldBard, an exceedingly talented linguist and musician I urge you to subscribe to if you enjoy history, music and old languages: https://youtube.com/@SkaldBard?si=2aS1po6A02iuW5E7; Walther von der Vogelweide, Theobald of Navarre, and various anonymous composers of the Medieval European, Greek Medieval and Anatolian Turkish traditions. Featuring kanun by Oğuzhan of the Bym Recording Group, and lyra by Stefanos Krasopoulis. More information available in the pinned comment. .

00:00 Overture – 1095 A.D
01:18 The Plea From the East
06:00 The West Hears
09:36 The Sinner
13:16 The Call
17:40 The Voyage
24:52 The Land of Rûm
28:10 Nicaea
33:50 The Battles of Anatolia
38:30 The Long March
43:00 Antioch
48:14 The Holy Land
53:10 The Last Prayer
57:12 The Battle for Jerusalem
01:04:56 The City Falls
01:10:00 The Crusades Have Begun

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23 thoughts on “The Crusader – Epic Symphony feat. The Skaldic Bard”

  1. Music by Farya Faraji, featuring the Latin rendition of the Palastinälied by the Skaldic Bard, an exceedingly talented linguist and musician I urge you to subscribe to if you enjoy history, music and old languages: https://youtube.com/@SkaldBard?si=2aS1po6A02iuW5E7; Walther von der Vogelweide, Theobald of Navarre, and various anonymous composers of the Medieval European, Greek Medieval and Anatolian Turkish traditions. Featuring kanun by Oğuzhan of the Bym Recording Group, and lyra by Stefanos Krasopoulis.

    I wanted to tell the story of the First Crusade, as always using an ethnomusicological lens through which the characters, locations and cultures revolving around the First Crusade allow us to get a glimpse into various soundscapes of different cultures and eras.

    For most of the symphony, up until the "Holy Land" chapter, the music representing the Western Europeans is historically informed and rooted in their historical practices, namely a monophonic, melodic structure devoid of modern Western harmony, with a practical compromise of the melodies being in Equal Temperament instead of Just Intonation or Pythagorean temperaments. Steady drones consisting of the tonic dominate these pieces, and early Western European harmony known as Organum; the usage of consistent parralel fifths or fourths, is also used. For a breakdown of Organum, watch this video I made explaining the subject, accompanied by academic sources: https://youtu.be/rNY4b0aRLcQ?si=ZCJ5DxUU-RjA285P One anachronism however is the usage of the trompette, the buzzing rythmic sound of the hurdy-gurdy, something that only came about in the 1500's.

    Another historically informed aspect is the rendering of Gregorian Chant that is quite unlike the modern, post-Solesmes reformation of the 19th century, defined by a minimalist, soft vocal style. Medieval chant of the Latin church was far more ornamental in its delivery. For an overview of this subject, watch this video I made, complete with academic sources: https://youtu.be/hxcH7S2BaiQ?si=9ZuRyWmVgDNOdaeo

    The instruments used to represent the Western Europeans consist of a vast panoply of historical instruments like medieval harps, bagpipes, hurdy-gurdy, rebecs, lutes, gitterns, zithers, as well as the medieval organ, an instrument re-introduced in the West by the Eastern Romans.

    The music used to represent the Muslim Turks consists of modern Turkish folk forms; monophonic and heterephonic, using diverse maqams, namely Bayati, with modern Turkish instruments like the bağlama, and a Central Asian dombra to symbolically represent the newly arrived Turks in the region.

    Breakdown of the chapters:

    * Overture : 1095 A.D
    This chapter's melody consists of the Palastinaliëd, a 13th century song written for the Fifth Crusade. You can see my previous arrangement here: https://youtu.be/pB-iSVszMLk?si=77XSzuJad1-9LeGp

    * The Plea from the East
    The melodies used are my Seljuks leitmotif, and the Greek melody and text are a reprise of Kúριε εκέκραξα, a Byzantine Chant.

    * The West Hears
    The melody is closely based on the medieval Dies Irae, a Gregorian Chant, and the text is a contemporary writing down of Pope Urban II's speech at the Council of Clermont in 1095, written down in the The Gesta Francorum Iherusalem peregrinantium by Fulcher of Chartres.

    * The Sinner
    An original composition closely emulating the melodic progressions of Western European medieval music from before the 1300's; with modal alterations between Dorian and Aeolian, and descending motifs down to the subtonic to initiate cadential phrases. The texts sung are from traditional Latin Catholic prayers, as well as Proverbs 6:9 from the Book of Proverbs.

    * The Call
    An arrangement of "Chevaliers mult estes guariz," a historical French Crusade chant written in the late 12th century for the Second Crusade; the lyrics have been altered to fit the context of the First Crusade. See my previous arrangement of the song here: https://youtu.be/2EY2ayoH81Y?si=0tiKORFNTvI5M8Dq

    * The Voyage
    Alongside original melodies, the French Crusader song Seigneurs Sachiez is arranged here; you can see my previous arrangement of it here: https://youtu.be/c07tEwg4j3I?si=8ZIBSsnpAEECRDx7. The rest of the text consists of the Gesta Francorum et aliorum Hierosolimitanorum, a first-hand account of the First Crusade by an anonymous crusader who was closely associated with Bohemond of Taranto.

    * The Land of Rûm
    The song is "Severim Ben Seni," a traditional Mevlevi Turkish air based on a poem in Old Anatolian Turkish by Yunus Emre, a Sufi poet who lived in the 13th century.

    * Nicaea
    The text is from the Gesta Francorum et aliorum Hierosolimitanorum and the Kutadgu Bilig.

    * The Battles in Rûm
    The text is from the Gesta Francorum et aliorum Hierosolimitanorum and the Kutadgu Bilig. The section is structured in a 5/4 asymettrical time signature, called aksak in Turkish music theory. Such time signatures are unusual in Western European music but a mark of Anatolian music, and uses Bayati Maqam.

    * The Long March
    The text is from the Gesta Francorum et aliorum Hierosolimitanorum.

    * Antioch
    The text is from the Gesta Francorum et aliorum Hierosolimitanorum. The section is structured in a 9 beat asymetrical, aksak time signature typical of Anatolian music, and uses Bayati Maqam.

    * The Holy Land
    The melody is the Palastinälied, translated beautifully to Latin by the Skaldic Bard. Whilst the first rendition in the overture followed historical conventions, this one is arranged in a modern style using tonal harmonic progression.

    * The Last Prayer
    This is a medieval Gregorian Chant believed to date from the 9th century, called Ave Maris Stella. The chant is rendered in a historically informed manner, doing away with the modern style of Gregorian Chant and using Organum as well as an approximation of the ornamental style of chant of the Middle-Ages.

    * The Battle for Jerusalem
    The Gregorian Chant included here is the Dies Irae.

    * The City Falls
    The text is from the Gesta Francorum et aliorum Hierosolimitanorum.

    * The Crusades Have Begun
    The melody is the Palastinälied, translated beautifully to Latin by the Skaldic Bard.

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  4. Brother, I was surprised to see that "the sinner" is an original composition. Thanks for this whole project. I would love to see you take on the Cantigas de Santa Maria. May Christ shower His grace on you.

    Reply

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